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When Vaginas Attack!

2024/12/5
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Science Vs

AI Deep Dive AI Chapters Transcript
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D
Dr. Tiana Purtle
W
Wendy Zuckerman
Topics
Wendy Zuckerman: 我主持了本期节目《科学对抗》,我们讨论的是动物性行为,以及我们被教导的关于动物性行为的许多内容是错误的。长期以来,人们普遍认为雄性动物在性行为中是主动的,而雌性动物是被动的,但事实远比这复杂得多,也更有趣得多。 Dr. Tiana Purtle: 在我的博士研究中,我注意到科学文献中对雄性和雌性动物的描述存在差异。雄性动物通常被描述为主动的参与者,它们会采取胁迫、操纵和骚扰等行为。而雌性动物则被描述为被动的,它们只是在回应或反应。甚至连适应性也被认为是雄性动物的特征,而雌性动物的适应性则被视为是对雄性动物行为的回应。这种偏见可以追溯到亚里士多德和达尔文,并受到了维多利亚时代社会对女性角色的狭隘观点的影响。达尔文在发展他的性选择理论时,将雌性动物描述为害羞和贞洁的,这掩盖了雌性动物的主动性和多样性。 然而,事实并非如此。雌性动物在进化中也扮演着积极的角色,它们进化出了各种各样的生殖策略来应对雄性动物的行为。例如,鸭子的阴道是螺旋形的,这与雄性鸭子的螺旋形阴茎形成对比,雌性鸭子可以通过这种结构来避免强迫交配。在一些鸭子物种中,高达40%的交配是强迫的,但只有2%到5%的幼鸭是由这些强迫交配产生的。这表明雌性鸭子可以通过控制其阴道来选择交配对象,并确保其后代的生存。 鬣狗的雌性拥有伪阴茎,这赋予了它们在社会等级和交配中的控制权。虽然伪阴茎在分娩时会带来困难,但这表明雌性鬣狗可以控制交配,并选择与之交配的雄性。水黾的雌性拥有生殖盾,可以控制是否与雄性交配。雄性水黾会通过威胁雌性来迫使其交配,这种威胁会增加雌性被捕食的风险。响尾蛇拥有两个阴道,这与雄性响尾蛇的两个阴茎相对应,它们可以储存精子数年,并选择合适的精子来受精卵子。羊驼的阴道结构简单,因为雌性羊驼可以通过行为来控制交配,不需要复杂的解剖结构来阻止精子进入。 总的来说,动物的阴道形态和功能多样性表明,雌性动物在进化中扮演着积极的角色,它们进化出了各种各样的生殖策略来应对雄性动物的行为,并控制其生育权。这种多样性也反映在动物界的同性恋行为中,这表明存在多种多样的生殖方式和性别角色。我们需要打破对雌性动物的刻板印象,并认识到它们在进化和生殖中的重要作用。

Deep Dive

Chapters
The show starts by challenging the traditional narrative of animal sex, where males are portrayed as active and females as passive. It introduces Dr. Tiana Purtle and her collection of animal vaginas, highlighting the complexity and diversity of female reproductive organs.
  • Traditional view of animal sex portrays males as active and females as passive.
  • This view is inaccurate and overly simplistic.
  • Dr. Tiana Purtle's research challenges this narrative.

Shownotes Transcript

[VIDEO available on Spotify.] Imagine a vagina. You might be thinking of a passive tube, patiently waiting for a penis to shoot out sperm — and you wouldn't be alone. From Aristotle to Darwin, tons of prominent nerds classified males as the active sexual players: They're coercing, manipulating and harassing to reproduce, while the females are passive, coy, chaste. But animal ecologist Dr. Tiana Pirtle is here to give us the real story.

Because once scientists started investigating what really goes on in the vaginas of the animal queendom, they realized that — far from being docile tubes — vaginas are packed with their own weaponry, tools and secret chambers. It turns out that both penises and vaginas were allowed to fight in the evolutionary arms race. Pirtle breaks open a box filled with animal vaginas to tell us all about it.  

Find our transcript here: https://bit.ly/ScienceVsWhenVaginasAttack)

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) A Box Full of Vaginas

(02:42) The 'Chaste' Female is Born

(06:51) The Duck Vagina that Launched a Thousand Ships

(11:06) Hyenas and their Pseudo Penises

(13:23) Water Striders and their Genital Shields

(16:53) Snakes and their Two Vaginas?! 

(20:28) Alpacas and their Regal Vaginas

(25:31) The Rainbow of Vaginas

This episode was produced by Wendy Zukerman with help from Michelle Dang, Rose Rimler, Meryl Horn, and Ekedi Fauster-Keeys. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Michelle Dang. Video Editing Kait Plum. Additional editing help from Alex Button. Mix and sound design by Sam Bair. Thanks to Dr. Patricia Brennan, Dr. Andy Flies, Dr. Chang Han, Prof. Christine Drea, Samuel Cox and Nick Johnson. We first heard about Tiana's show at Beaker Street Festival in Tasmania. Also a big thanks to the Zukerman Family and Joseph Lavelle Wilson.

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